


by the light of the sunset, i will always find you

by ZephyrEden



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, ig??? - Freeform, listen the zine said no spoilers and i said fate is inevitable so here we are, post kh3 but in like a pre kh3 way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 19:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20626001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrEden/pseuds/ZephyrEden
Summary: roxas and xion find each other in twilight.my piece for the I'll See You Again zine.





	by the light of the sunset, i will always find you

There's an oddness that comes with it all. The familiarity of places he once knew seems… wrong somehow, in a way that is potent and real yet also indescribable. At least to him it is. He thinks maybe someone more eloquent could do it, or maybe just someone with more life experience. Heart experience.

Someone he can look forward to becoming now that he’s not running on borrowed time. Someone he isn’t yet.

Maybe that’s why a feeling of wrongness bubbles up in him when he starts to think about what he’ll do next, overwhelmed by the possibilities that a future he gets a say in grants him. Like he opened his eyes and suddenly everything seemed a bit too clear and it’s within that clarity that he could now pick out all the spaces that he didn’t quite belong. At least, not yet.

He thinks it might be because he's not the only one with… What had Axel called it? A new lease on life. Right.

_Right_.

And that's why he finds himself alone, strolling the slowly emptying streets of Twilight Town on his own.

Axel had taken off a while ago, something about wanting to really take a good visit back to his home world. It seemed like that was where most everyone went off to. Home.

He can't relate.

Then there was Xion. Xion…

He shakes his head, ignoring the feeling of warmth that explodes through his chest at just the thought of her.

Xion had been whisked away by Vexen - _Even_ now, he thinks he remembers the scientist squawking at the misnomer - for a series of tests. Something about checking for stabilization. He isn't really sure. All he knows is that Vexen froze when he first saw Xion’s real face, and he has a feeling it's not because of the same breathlessness that had stolen through him when he first saw her again.

He should really figure that out. He doesn't want Xion to think anything is wrong next time they meet. Not that there's anything wrong. The heat he can feel radiating off his face at the thought of seeing her again is completely normal. Right.

_Right_.

He sighs and without thinking his feet lead him to the most familiar place to him in all the worlds.

The corridors don’t open for him so readily anymore, so it’s a long and lonely walk up the dozens of stairs that lead to the top of the clock tower. He tries to ignore the way his footsteps echo in the quiet emptiness. He’s not even sure why he’s coming up here. He knows he’ll just feel more alone sitting up there by himself-

He freezes as he steps back outside, the appearance of another figure catching him off guard.

“Xion?”

The figure turns, brilliant blue eyes lighting up upon seeing him. Xion smiles easily and it makes Roxas a little bit dizzy. “Roxas,” she greets with affectionate familiarity, giggling as he slightly stumbles before taking a seat in the space next to her. “I was hoping you’d come here.”

“Really?” he asks, distracted as he looks at her in an outfit he’s never seen before. It suits her. “No more coat, huh?” he chuckles, hoping if he acts like he used to then maybe his insides will stop somersaulting.

She giggles again, one hand rising to slightly cover her mouth. “I could say the same to you.” She swings her legs in the air as she looks back at the sunset, her face betraying none of what she’s thinking. “It feels… different. Not just the clothes, but… everything. It all feels different.”

Roxas nods in easy agreement. It’s not even that everything feels _different_ now, but that everything _feels_ at all. He’s not used to it, not like this.

“For a long time, I wondered what it would be like.”

“Feeling?” Roxas looks at her curiously, watches as her eyes close and her lips curl up again at the warm kiss of sunlight on her face.

She opens her eyes slowly, glancing at Roxas for only a moment before looking down at her lap where her fidgeting fingers lay. “Back then, I didn’t know how it was supposed to feel, having a heart. But looking back now, I realize…” she smiles again, her voice full of warm affection, “it’s the same way I felt whenever I was with you.”

Roxas thinks he understands that, if the way that his own heart is beating so fast he can barely feel it at all acts as any indication. He should say something. Anything. His mouth opens and closes without sound, any thought that might form a sentence utterly incoherent by the time it reaches his throat. A consequence of really having a heart of his own, he’s noticed. Words are much harder to come by now.

He should really say something.

“You know,” he starts because it’s the first thing that comes out and the words that he’s been struggling with finally form into something with a semblance of coherency. “I forgot about you for a while. We…” he swallows against a too-dry throat and keeps his eyes straight ahead, hands clenching as he squints at the remaining sliver of red sun. “We all did. But it’s like… I forgot, but I knew you were still supposed to be here. Like, instead of just disappearing,” he unfurls one hand and twists his fingers into the fabric at his chest, “there was a hole where you used to be and nothing could fill it. So, maybe it’s the same for me. I didn’t realize it when I was with you, but I noticed it was different when you were gone. Cold, somehow…” he trails off, scowling at his inability to explain what he means. He sighs and drops his hand, “Maybe that doesn’t make sense-”

“Roxas?”

He holds his breath in way that’s entirely involuntary, his chest an amphitheater for his jackhammering heart, the echoes of it so loud he swears he feels it rattling in his teeth.

He jolts when he feels familiar fingers weaving around his own, his heart leaving the cage of his ribs to plant firmly in his throat as he turns towards her. “Y-yeah?” He stops, eyes wide as he finds Xion’s face mere inches from his own.

She takes a moment to look into his eyes and softens, a tender smile on her lips meant only for him. “I’m glad I met you.”

With the smoldering intensity of a sunset, heat sears his cheek where Xion grazes it, lips smooth as they press against his skin. He knows he must be a thousand shades of red right now. He thinks that maybe… Maybe he doesn’t mind. Not when it’s her.

Xion giggles as she pulls away, Roxas’ expression putting a brightness in her that she couldn’t reach on her own. She smiles wider as he follows her retreat and leans into her space, his hand tightening around her own as he presses his forehead to hers.

The words come easy now. “I’m glad I met you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

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